King visit highlighted use of mindless words

Published: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 11:21 a.m. CDT

By Marshall Critchfield
Co-Chair Republican Party of Jasper County

To the editor:

We were pleased to host Congressman Steve King at our monthly meeting [Monday] night. Our turnout was excellent, Cardinal Hills Golf & Swim Club was the perfect venue, and Rep. King’s message was well-received.

As a close follower of Iowa politics, I fully expected the congressman to rally the troops on the issues that have made him a national figure. What surprised me was his mention of “victimization.” Rep. King said that while in Ames one day, he typed “victims group” on an ISU search engine. The search yielded something like 58 different campus-based groups that called themselves “victims” of something.

Last Friday, the Newton Daily News posted a wonderful syndicated piece by Thomas Sowell. In the article, Mr. Sowell opined that the words “diversity” and “fair” have a way of replacing thought.

In my last letter to the editor, I discussed the overuse of the word “bullying.” My claim was, by overusing the term to encompass any undesired aversions in life, we would diminish the term for those who are actually bullied.

If, as a society, we are obsessed with victimization, diversity, fairness, and bullying — we are going to lose our competitive edge in the world. These are going to become ‘stop’ words if they haven’t already.

Rep. King mentioned “American Exceptionalism” last night. I hadn’t heard that term since the 2012 Primary Election but I believe the concept ties in beautifully with the fact that we are creating a society of non-thinkers who believe they can play with the world on the end of a string provided they throw the right penalty flag at the right time.